RESULTS OF LYSIMETER EXPERIMENTS ON THE P OSSIBILITIES TO OPTIMIZE WATER MANAGEMENT AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN DRINKING-WATER PROTECTION AREAS

A complex lysimeter experiment was conducted to study the possibilitie s of optimizing water management and agricultural production in drinki ng water protection areas, minimizing translocation of relevant macron utrients (N,P,K) from the root zone and, at the same time, ensuring hi gh crop yields. This was to be reached by different schemes of arable land and grassland utilization for different site and management condi tions. N leaching is about 31% lower when cereals are rotationally cro pped with forage crops instead of root crops. Intensive grassland farm ing with annually four cuts reduces N leaching by 48% as compared with rotational cropping of cereals and forage crops and by 64% as compare d with cereal-root crop rotations.